Drawing in families and serving longtime residents in a background of art and nature

By Mindy Rubenstein

It’s been a year since the doors of a brand-new Jewish center opened on Vancouver Island, the majestic outpost in the northeastern Pacific Ocean tucked off Canada’s coast, north of Seattle. In fact, the Chabad Centre for Jewish Life and Learning represent...

Chabad campus couple draws the attention of students, and their parents, with a nourishing program

By Mindy Rubenstein, Chabad.edu

Alex Lustig, a freshman at California Polytechnic State Institute, had come down with mononucleosis, which left him utterly wiped out. He was in need of rest, care and a little homemade food. Once she heard the news, his mother, who lives 16 hours away in...

Elementary-school students and the elderly form bonds as part of a new program

By Mindy Rubenstein

Noam Cahana, a sixth-grader at Rudlin Torah Academy in Richmond, Va., was very candid about the whole experience, from start to finish. “When my dad first advised it, I was saying to myself: ‘This is something only for Scouts.’ To my surprise, I really en...

A small but strong K-8 educational institution is a cornerstone for the community

By Mindy Rubenstein

Galit and Joe Friedman recently moved with their four young children from the heavily Jewish Southeast Florida city of Boca Raton—several hours away and across Alligator Alley—to the slower-paced western part of the state. A cardiologist, Joe Friedman had...

For the past 18 years, the Minkowicz family has served as a beacon of light to Jews living in the tranquil Atlanta suburbs of Alpharetta, Johns Creek and other nearby areas. It’s also now been more than two years now since Rashi Minkowicz—the wife of Rabb...

‘Loaves of Love’ participants learn to make, bake and sell challah to the community

By Mindy Rubenstein

A new program in Chicago offers young adults with special needs the chance to make and sell challah at a kosher bakery. Tzippy Dukes, who started “Loaves of Love” earlier this year, partnered with the local franchise Breadsmith in Skokie, a suburb of Chic...

Why is 16-year-old Rachel Wilkes on a quest? Or is the answer apparent: Why not? She and more than 80 other teenagers—40 boys ad 40 girls—will travel to Israel and Poland this summer as part of a brand-new program called “CTeen Heritage Quest.” “I decided...

Programs in a burgeoning new community for families, students and young professionals

By Mindy Rubenstein

Life in Stapleton, Colo., is taking off—and so is the Jewish community in this fledgling neighborhood of Denver. From 1929 to 1995, Stapleton was the site of the Denver area’s airport. It was relocated and replaced by Denver International Airport, with th...

Dedicated to four fallen soldiers, a sign of spiritual growth at Kibbutz Degania

By Mindy Rubenstein

The famed Kibbutz Degania Alef on the shores of the Kinneret in northern Israel has received a noteworthy new gift. The kibbutz, Israel’s very first, established in 1909 under Ottoman rule, now has a kosher Torah scroll for use for services, holidays, rel...